The True Interest of Families, Section
Motives to excite Children to do theſe things.
Firſt, 1. Motive, from the divine Commandment.It will tend mightily to move them to Honour their Father and Mother, if they conſider who requires this at their hands. This Law proceedeth not from Men, but from God; It is a Law made by him who is their Maker; and therefore by right of Creation may require their Obedience: It is a Law made by their faithful preſerver, and rich provider; and therefore by vertue of his daily care over them, and kindneſs to them, may command them what he thinks good: This is the will of their Father in Heaven, of their Lord and King, of him who will call them to an account, and render to them according to their Works; of him who is their greateſt and beſt Friend, if they do his Will and keep his Commandments; but will be their moſt dreadful and terrible Enemy, if they do not obey his Voice: If therefore children have any ſenſe of God on their Souls; if they conſider his infinite greatneſs, power, wiſdom, juſtice, truth, faithfulneſs, mercy, and kindneſs; they cannot but endeavour to perform what he requires, when once they know what is his holy will and pleaſure. Now, as to what I ſpeak of, to wit the Duty of Children to Parents, it is plain and clear, not only from thoſe Laws which are contained in Holy Scripture, which were revealed from Heaven to Holy Men, whom God made uſe of to be the publiſhers thereof to the World: but likewiſe from the Laws of Nature, thoſe clear impreſſions which God hath made on the minds of Men in all places, and in all Ages; whereby they are taught that Children ought to honour and obey their Parents, to love them and to relieve them, and provide for them, if they ſtand in need of their help. Theſe have always been the calm and ſober thoughts of all Men; and when any were ſo wicked as to violate this ſacred Law, they were hated and abhorred by all others; and in all well govern'd States, were puniſhed according to the demerits of their Crime, and the degree of their diſobedience and perverſeneſs, either immediately by the Parents, or by publick Judges, upon complaint made by Parents. The Senſe of all this ought to move Children to honour their Father and Mother, that they may approve themſelves to God, who requires them to do ſo, and that upon the ſevereſt Penalties, if they ſhall dare to diſhonour them, and diſobey them.
Secondly, To encourage Children to perform their Duty to their Parents,2. Motive, from the Divine Promiſe. God hath been pleaſed to add a gracious promiſe. That thy days may be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. He might only have commanded them to do this, by virtue of his abſolute Power and Soveraign Authority, which he has over all Men, without propoſing any Reward; but ſuch is his infinite Bounty and Goodneſs, that he hath added a Promiſe to the Command, thereby to make Childrens Duty the more eaſie.
As to the Promiſe it ſelf, it is not to be underſtood abſolutely, as if all good Children ſhould live long; promiſes of Temporal Bleſſings are made conditionally, that is, ſo far as God ſees ſuch things beſt and fitteſt for us: So that as to this promiſe of long life, God will beſtow it, if it be moſt for his own Glory, and the good and Benefit of Children. Oftentimes he does lengthen out the years of pious and dutiful Children; whereas the years of wicked and undutiful Children are ſhortned by their prophane and wicked Courſes; ſo that ſome of them are cut off immediately by the hand of God; and others are put to death by the hand of Man.
As for thoſe Children who live not to a great Age, tho' they are very dutiful and obedient to their Parents; God doth make up what is wanting in the number of their years here, with an everlaſting Life, and Glory in Heaven. In which caſe there's no cauſe to Complain, as if God did not fulfill his promiſe to them. For as there is no reaſon for a Man to complain, who is employed to work for ſo much a day, if his Maſter ſee it fit to free him from his Work, and pay him all his Wages before the third part of his time is out: Even ſo, if God think fit to ſet his Children at Liberty, from the toil and labour of this life, and to beſtow upon them glorious and Eternal Rewards, while they are in the Morning or Noon, as it were, of their Age, there is no ground of complaining upon his doing ſo, but rather great matter of praiſe and thankſgiving unto him, whoſe mercy and love is infinitely great.
But beſides this Reward in the other World; there are Temporal Bleſſings which God will beſtow on thoſe who keep this Commandment. How acceptable and pleaſing to him, was the Obedience of the Rechabites unto their Father, tho' his Commands ſeemed very hard and ſevere, to wit, That they ſhould drink no Wine, nor build Houſe, nor ſow ſeed, nor plant Vineyard, nor have any, but ſhould dwell in Tents, Jer. 35. 6, 7. &c. And ver. 18. Jeremiah ſaid unto the Houſe of the Rechabites, Thus ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, the God of Iſrael, becauſe you have obeyed the Command of Jonadab your Father, and kept all his Precepts, and done according to all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus ſaith the Lord of Hoſts, the God of Iſrael, Jonadab the Son of Rechab ſhall not want a Man to ſtand before me for ever. Which Words import that he would take a particular care of them, that he would be mindful of them, and have them in his Eye; that he would preſerve them, and ſhew them his favour and love, and continue unto them thoſe Offices and Priviledges which they enjoyed, which ſome think were, of being Scribes and Doctors of the Law, and having ſome Charge in or about the Temple.
3. Motive, from the Example of our Bleſſed Saviour.Thirdly, Beſides the Command of God, and the Reward which he hath promiſed to them who honour their Parents, how ſtrong an Argument ought it to be unto all Children, to excite them to this, when they conſider the Example of their Bleſſed Lord and Maſter, their King and Saviour, Jeſus Chriſt? Of whom it is ſaid, that he was ſubject unto his Parents, Luke 2.51 And if he, who was ſo much greater than his Parents, who was their Lord, their King, their Maker, their Saviour and Redeemer; if he, who was the Son of God, and thought it no Robbery to be equal with God, I ſay, if he was ſubject to his Parents, ought not all Children to be ſo to their Parents? and to eſteem it their glory to imitate their Prince and Saviour, as in his other Virtues, ſo in his Obedience and Subjection to his Parents? Shall any Man think himſelf too good to do this, when Chriſt did it before him? Can it be too mean for a Worm to do that, which a Man, a great Man, and a mighty Prince hath done? Shall vile ſinners think themſelves abaſed and diſhonoured by doing that which was done before by him, who knew no ſin, and in whoſe Mouth there was found no guile, who was holy, harmleſs, and undefiled, ſeparate from ſinners, and made higher than the Heavens, Heb. 7.26. As our Bleſſed Lord was a great and noble Pattern to us in other things, ſo particularly in his love to his Parents. When he was upon the Croſs, a little before he gave up the Ghoſt, he expreſſed how great his love was to his Mother, and how tender a care he had of her. John 19.25, 26, 27. Now there ſtood by the Croſs of Jeſus, his Mother, and his Mothers Siſter, Mary the Wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jeſus therefore ſaw his Mother, and the Diſciple ſtanding by, whom he loved, he ſaith unto his Mother, Woman, behold thy Son. Then ſaith he to the Diſciple, behold thy Mother. And from that hour, that Diſciple took her unto his own home. He commends his Mother to John (Joſeph in all probability being dead) that he might take care of her, as of his own Mother. Tho' he was at this time in the midſt of great pain and anguiſh, tho' his hands and his feet were nailed to the Croſs, tho' his head was Crowned with Thorns, tho' he lay under the moſt inſupportable Burden that ever Man lay under, yet, as if the ſight of his Mother had made him forget all his Sufferings, and Torments, he affectionately recommends her to the Care of another, who he knew would perform all the Offices of a loving Son unto her. He knew how great an affliction it would be to her, to be deprived of the Comfort of his preſence in the World; he knew to how many neceſſities and wants, ſhe ſhould be expoſed by his leaving of her; and therefore he gives it in charge to the beloved Diſciple, to do the Duty of a Son unto her, to be to her in his ſtead, to honour her, to love her, to ſerve her, to take care of her, and provide whatever might be fit for her. This ſhews all Children what is their Duty towards their Parents, to wit, that they ought to take care of them, ſo long as they live, and are able to do it; they ought with all reſpect and kindneſs, to perform unto them all thoſe Offices, which the Laws of Nature and Chriſtianity require.
Fourthly, May not the Examples of ſome Heathens,4. Motive, from the Examples of ſome Heathens. which have already been mentioned, excite Chriſtian Children to perform their Duty to their Parents? There are a great many more inſtances might be added to this purpoſe; I ſhall only mention two. The firſt is, of the brave Coriolanus, that Great Roman Commander, who being very ill uſed by his Country-men, fled to the Volſcians, who were at that time at War with the Romans. Within a little time after his coming amongſt them, he was made General of their Forces; in which Service he had great Succeſs againſt the Romans, gaining ſeveral Victories over them, whereby he was encouraged to approach to the very Walls of Rome: His Country-men were terribly alarmed with this; ſo that they were forced to make humble Addreſſes to him, to deprecate his diſpleaſure, but to no purpoſe: They ſent their Prieſts in their ſacred Veſtments, but to as little Effect: But no ſooner did his Mother, attended with his Wife and Children, come to him, but he ſubmitted himſelf to her. Now, ſays he, you have overcome me indeed, when the intreaties of my Mother are added to yours; tho' Rome deſerve my hatred, yet for my Mothers ſake I will ſpare it; and immediately he withdrew his Army.
A ſecond Example, is that of the worthy Athenian Captain Cimon, who not being able to redeem the Corps of his Father, which was arreſted for Debt, ſold himſelf, and became a Slave, that his deceaſed Father's Body might be freed from that Arreſt that was upon it, and ſo might have honourable Burial. This great Man was famous for his Noble and Valiant Exploits, for his great courage and excellent Conduct in Military Affairs; but there was not any thing for which he was ſo much admired and loved, as for this wonderful inſtance of Affection and Reſpect to his Father.
May not ſuch ſhining Patterns amongſt the Pagans, make many Chriſtians aſhamed, who come ſo far ſhort of them, in their Duty and Obedience to their Parents? Shall not they riſe up in Judgment and condemn Chriſtians, who tho' they have a more excellent, compleat, and perfect Rule, tho' they have a great deal more Light to direct them in their Duty to their Parents; and tho' they have much greater aſſiſtances to enable them to perform their Duty; do nevertheleſs carry themſelves ſo undutifully, and unchriſtianly, as if they had never heard of the Goſpel of Chriſt, yea, as if they had been born without any impreſſions of Natural Religion on their Minds, whereby all Nations are ſo far inſtructed and enlightned, as to acknowledge, that to honour, obey, love, ſerve, and aſſiſt our Parents, is a Duty of unqueſtionable and indiſpenſible Obligation.